Welcoming Remarks

Miguel Tuason
GLAA President

GLAA 41st Anniversary Reception
Washington Plaza Hotel
Thursday, April 26, 2012

Good evening and welcome. I am Miguel Tuason, President of GLAA. Thank you for joining us to celebrate GLAA's 41 years of advocacy and vigilance on behalf of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender people in Washington.

We've accomplished a lot in four decades, from repealing the sodomy law to passing a hate crimes law to leading the long effort to win and keep civil marriage equality. With our allies we have demonstrated that change is a coalition effort. Many of our allies are listed in the acknowledgments at the front of our policy brief, "Agenda: 2012," which we put together as a tool for citizens, candidates, and journalists. D.C. is ahead of most jurisdictions in protections for LGBT people. But ensuring responsive and respectful government requires vigilance.

To help us communicate with the city we helped change, we have expanded our outreach through our website, blog, and other new media. Check out our informative website at GLAA dot org, our blog at GLAA Forum dot org, and our news aggregator at DC Gay Etc dot com.

We have a number of illustrious guests with us this evening, including Mayor Vincent Gray, Councilmembers Michael Brown, Jack Evans, and Phil Mendelson, and former Councilmember Carol Schwartz.

GLAA is all-volunteer. We pay no staff. We rent no office space. Your donations cover the cost of copying, postage, advertising and website maintenance, enabling us to spend more of our volunteer time on advocacy. We greatly appreciate your help.

We thank the D.C. Council for honoring us with a ceremonial resolution. And we thank Congresswoman Norton for her tribute in the Congressional Record. But we have a tradition of marking our anniversary by recognizing the contributions of others with our Distinguished Service Awards.

But first, we pause to honor one who is no longer with us. Frank Kameny was a giant in our movement. GLAA's very existence grew out of his 1971 campaign for Congress. We dedicate this evening to Frank's memory. Rick Rosendall will speak for us.

[After Kameny tribute:]

The best allies in government leadership are not those who become our friends only when they decide to seek public office, but those who have proven themselves to be our friends over many years, long before they ran for anything. Our city's top official is an example of such a person. Please welcome Mayor Vincent Gray.